Conaway Amendments to Defense Budget Pass House

WASHIINGTON, D.C. — Thursday, the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 351-66.

Congressman Mike Conaway, a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, authored three pieces of the legislation, according to his office.

“Every year, the National Defense Authorization Act provides critical funding and support for the men and women who serve our nation. This year’s NDAA supports President Trump’s commitments to rebuild the military and improve readiness after the drastic cuts the last administration made,” Conaway said in a prepared statement.

“This legislation makes major reforms to the Pentagon’s bureaucracy, including streamlining inefficiencies in the buying practices and three amendments I authored to improve the auditability of the Department of Defense- a top priority of mine as a CPA,” he said.

In January, Conaway, who is a CPA, announced the Department of Defense was undergoing a full audit to “track every dollar spent.” Now, should Conaway’s amendment to the NDAA get incorporated into law, the DoD will be required to enhance the large branch of government’s audit capabilities. In January, Conaway noted, the smaller effort bore fruit. “For instance, Army leadership discovered 39 helicopters that it was previously unaware of at command level and the Air Force discovered nearly 500 structures across all its property that was unknown to command level,” Conaway stated in January.

The House bill proposes to give U.S. military troops the largest pay raise in nine years.

“The NDAA addresses rising threats around the world, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran, and reaffirms our key alliance with Israel. My 12 Carrier Act, which adds a carrier to our fleet to meet the projection needs of our Navy, was also included in this legislation, as were my amendments supporting Georgia and the Baltic states,” Conaway stated.

“This NDAA is chock-full of provisions to provide our service members with the resources and training they need in order to successfully execute their missions and protect our nation. I urge the Senate to act swiftly- our men and women in uniform are counting on it,” he said.